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The Hangman's Demise
The episode opens with the execution of Thomas Lightman, a young man found guilty of the murder of a secretary: Vera Blanchett. He denies the murder and whispers the name of the real culprit to the hangman, Henry Lee. Despite Henry's shocked reaction, the execution is carried out. Two years later, the hangman, Henry is celebrating his wedding anniversary with his wife Edie, with Father Brown, Mrs McCarthy, Sid and Lady Felicia attending. With Mrs McCarthy still not forgiving the Father for awarding Edie with the winners' ribbon in last year's Kembleford Flower Show, with this year's festival looming. During the party, Henry is approached by Iris Lightman, Thomas' mother, begging him for anything her son may have said anything about someone called Max that may have proved his innocence. He initially feigns ignorance but later becomes drunk and storms out. Meanwhile, Henry's friend George, a retired policeman invites Mrs McCarthy out for dinner, though she is initially hesitant. The next day, on the eve of the flower show, and at some pressure from Lady Felicia, Mrs McCarthy goes to visit George, who is working with the Lee's in their garden to accept his invitation to dinner. As Edie begs Mrs McCarthy for some jobs with her floral business, Henry collapses, the victim of hemlock poisoning, and given not long left to live. Inspector Mallory arrives to take statements and George willingly gives permission to search his house given he made tea for Henry shortly prior to hid poisoning. Once alone, Brown asks Henry who could possibly be responsible, with initial suspicion falling on Iris. Later, at St. Marys, George is arrested by Mallory upon the discovery of hemlock at his house. At the Presbytery, Brown is convinced that George is likely not the poisoner, but doesn't yet know who could be responsible. Brown later meets with Iris and questions her about Henry and she reveals she was up to recently been in prison for attacking a police officer on the day of Thomas' execution. When visiting Henry, Brown pinches a book by Tennyson from the policeman searching Henry's rubbish bin. Inside the book is a message from Max to Henry, when Iris told him Max was the killer, Henry binned the book in disgust. Henry explains that Max was a judge at the court where Vera was a secretary and who killed himself shortly after Thomas was executed. Meanwhile at the station Mallory finds one of Iris' buttons at the scene and thus frees George and arrests Iris. She confesses to the intention of attacking Henry but not poisoning him, and promptly refuses to answer Mallory's forceful questioning. Back at Henry's, Brown questions the possibility of Edie poisoning her husband to get her father's inheritance, locked away due to her marriage to Henry, she is insulted by the accusation and asks Brown to leave. When Mallory goes to inform Henry of Iris' arrest, he insists she is innocent much to Mallory's puzzlement, though the overwhelming evidence against Iris seemingly makes the case open and shut. George hurries over to Mrs McCarthy's to fulfill his request for dinner. Later, Brown discovers that the note on the flowers given by George to Mrs McCarthy is a match to the note in Henry's book, and that George is Max, and George killed Vera Blanchett. Brown and Sid rush off and inform Mrs McCarthy about George, with Father Brown going on to question George about Vera's murder, he explains that the murder was covered up by top brass in the police, and the blame was placed on Thomas. Despite his revelations George maintains that he didn't poison Henry. Which leads Father Brown to realise that Henry poisoned himself in an effort to reveal the full cover up. George goes to Iris' cell and confesses to Mallory his involvement in Vera's murder and the resulting cover up. Mallory on the orders of the top brass is forced to release George, but George's insistence to link Mallory to the corruption if he is freed leads to Mallory keeping him in prison. Brown goes to speak to Henry once more, and he confesses that he needed help to bring true justice on George for Vera's murder, it turned out what Thomas had told him was that Vera was killed by a policeman. He begs forgiveness from Father Brown who reassures him, later after making peace with Edie, Henry passes away. At the flower show, Father Brown awards the ribbon of the flower show to Mrs McCarthy and Lady Felicia, on behalf of Edie, though it turns out Sid helped with telling him whose plant was whose.